Friday March 29th, 2024
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Album Review: 'Let Me Dream/Out Of Mind' EP By Shiha

Champion of the underground Shiha is back with a stellar Deep House EP.

Staff Writer

Prolific beat maker. Veteran of the Egyptian club circuit. Khabeer el khabt (which has no real meaning, but sort-of translates to 'Master of Noise' in English). It’s hard to define Mahmoud Shiha by any single tagline; a musical maestro on the scene since an early age, Shiha’s unique blend of House and Trance has since established the low-key DJ as a true force of the underground. A string of releases on both Electrum Records and Besworks precede his latest release, Let Me Dream/Out Of Mind. The two track EP - which is now available for free download - is a blissful return to Shiha’s Deep House roots.

Shiha’s masterful production abilities are most highlighted on the nearly eight-minute opus Let Me Dream, where a hard-as-concrete 4/4 beat lays a groundwork of groove over bouncing, breathing synthetic chords and tropical-sounding percussion. A breakdown filled with soft, brass-horn-like instruments and shimmering, crystalline melodies deceivingly comfort you before Shiha brings back even harder-hitting grooves and baselines.

A twisting, modulating lead synthesizer drags us out of the euphoria of Let Me Dream, and into the dark and evolving Out Of Mind. Here, piercing hi-hats and a deep, bouncing baseline set the tempo over screeching synthesizers that flow in and out of audibility. The unorthodox lead melody is played on what sounds like a marimba, but seems more liquid, like melodically tuned drops of water.

Shiha’s return to the Deep House genre is a breath of fresh air in the sadly stagnating genre. And with the release of the Let Me Dream/Out Of Mind EP, the production powerhouse and head of Epic101 Studios has set himself a few steps above his House music contemporaries. Let Me Dream/Out Of Mind feels less like a collection of dance tracks, and more like an evolving sonic journey. 

Check Shiha out on Facebook, Soundcloud, and Instagram.